


And the cogs keep turning

by basicallyiwriteshit



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, First fights, M/M, Making Up, clock references, making up after a fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-01-11
Packaged: 2018-05-13 03:38:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5693155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/basicallyiwriteshit/pseuds/basicallyiwriteshit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They worked like clockwork. If one of the cogs stopped working, so did the rest of the clock, until the cog was fixed and the whole thing moved smoothly again. </p><p>Kei's cogs come to a screeching halt, and he's left with the timelessness of a broken clock as he tries to repair the cogs of his and Tadashi's relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And the cogs keep turning

**Author's Note:**

> Ok I've had this in my drafts since before the whole clock thing in the anime/manga so fuCKING FIGHT ME. Anyways, enjoy~

They worked like clockwork. If one of the cogs stopped working, so did the rest of the clock, until the cog was fixed and the whole thing moved smoothly again. This week was no exception-- Kei had been out sick with a bad stomach bug, and therefore Tadashi wasn’t in his top shape the whole week either. By time Sunday came along, both were itching to see each other. Tadashi makes his way over to Kei’s home as soon as practice is over, and Kei greets him thankfully at the door.

He was still sick, but it was nice to see someone -- _anyone_ \-- other than his immediate family. Especially if the someone was the person he’d been meaning to confess to before he’d been incapacitated for a week. When he answers the door, Tadashi immediately hands him his homework and starts to ask him how he was, tell him about the week without him, about practice, and “if you’re still sick, I can go, Tsukki!”

Kei appreciates it-- he does. He’s had a week without speaking to his best friend -- the boy he loved -- save for texts and phone calls, which were a rarity when he was sick, because Tadashi did’t want to bother him.

“Really, if you aren’t feeling up to it, I can--”

“It’s fine,” Kei groans, for the nth time in probably the last ten minutes Tadashi had been over, smiling nonetheless. “I’m feeling a lot better, so don’t worry. Besides, I missed having my best friend around.” 

He sounds out of character, and he knows it, but it’s worth the blush and tiny smile on Tadashi’s face when he registers his words. Besides, he could brush it off if questioned later, blaming it on his fever.

“Well, it-- it’s good, you’re up for human interaction...Your mom said that you haven’t been out of your room more than to take baths and empty out your puke buckets...” 

Tadashi grimaces at his words, face contorting when he says ‘puke buckets’-- he’s never been big on bodily fluids like that.

“I felt miserable all week.” Kei sighs, looking up to the ceiling. The same, stark-white expanse he’s been staring at all week, and frankly he’s tired of it. “We should get something to put up there.”

Tadashi follows his gaze, eyes trailing over the pale ceiling, and puffs out his cheeks in thought. “Like what?”

“I don’t know...stars, or something?”

Tadashi snickers. “Like those glow-in-the-dark stick-on stars little kids get when they’re scared of the dark, Tsukki?”

“No,” Kei grumbles, “...Maybe. But not because I’m afraid of the dark.” 

“Oh? Why, then?” Tadashi leans forward, towards Kei, and Kei gulps, feeling his studious gaze on him. 

“I just-- like stars. Astronomy's always interested me.”

“I know. We used to stargaze every weekend.”

“You said that as if you’re speaking to an old man or something,” Kei mumbles, turning to Tadashi with a frown. Tadashi giggles.

“Well, aren’t I? You act like a seventy year old man, sometimes, Tsukishima-san,” Tadashi mocks, grinning, and Kei snickers.

“Watch yourself, Tadashi, or this old man’s gonna come over there and beat your ass,” Kei mutters through a coughing fit, and Tadashi giggles again, pausing for a second as Kei realizes his mistake.

“Tsukki, did you..”

“Uh...Yeah.” Kei coughs, this time not from being sick. “I...I did.”

Tadashi hums nervously, and fidgets with the hem of his shirt.

“I think the medicine my mom’s giving me is a little strong.” 

“Oh.” It almost sounds if Tadashi had...wanted him to call him his given name. “Yeah, uh-- some cough medicine doesn’t mix well with stomach relievers, so you might want to be...careful...” 

Kei knows this is a fact completely pulled out of Tadashi’s ass, but he nods dumbly anyways, shaking his head clear at the same time.

“Yeah, uh-- I’ll keep that in mind. 

_Cog one, broken._

“Anyways, Tsukki, uh-- I have this tweet I want to show you, I thought of you right when I saw it, but I wanted to see your face when you saw it, so I screenshotted it instead of sending it to you..” Kei watches as Tadashi reaches and grabs his phone from his pocket, trying to show him something, when Kei snaps. He reaches over and grabs Tadashi by the collar when he’s close enough, and pulls him into a kiss. Confession be damned, Tadashi was just too cute and far too fidgety right now for him not to. 

Tadashi pushes away rather fast, the force of which he does so sending him to the floor, his phone falling hollowly to the ground next to him.

_Cog two, stopped._

“Tadashi--?”

“...Tsukki, it’s not nice to play jokes.” 

“What? Jokes?” Kei’s eyes are wide, and he’s absolutely terrified. He’d thought he’d been reading Tadashi correctly, he’d though--

“Kuroo-san told you, didn’t he? He pried it out of me a while back, promised not to tell. I shouldn’t have believed him. Now he’s pulled you into a mean, mean prank on me, and--” Tadashi gasps for breath, his head falling into his knees, which he’d drawn to his chest. 

“Tadashi,  _what are you talking about_?” 

“Tsukki,” Tadashi sounds breathless, now, and all Kei wants to do is hold him, tell him he’s going to be alright, but that doesn’t seem like the best idea. “You were leading me on, just now, but...I didn’t think you’d...Oh, god, I’m so dumb.” 

“You’re not--”

“I should have known better to hope that anyone as cool as you would like me.” 

“Tadashi--”

“St- Stop calling me that. Please. You’re-- You’re confusing me.” 

_...And just like that, there goes the rest, and the clock is stuck._

“...Why wouldn’t I like you?” Kei asks softly, looking down at the shaking form in front of him. 

“Why _would_ you? I’m pathetic. You don’t have to pretend, Tsukki.” 

Now, it was normal for Kei to get agitated with Tadashi, and even more normal for him to take out his frustration on him with a venomous tongue. That was just something they understood about each other. Kei rarely ever meant what he said, and Tadashi never held grudges. That’s why they worked so well together. Of course, there’s a first time for everything. 

“Tadashi, shut up! You’re not pathetic, so quit acting like you are, because _that’s_ pathetic. I like you, so deal with it. God, you’re so _dense_ , sometimes.” 

Tadashi’s breathing halts, and he slowly looks up at Kei with weary eyes.

Kei waits. And then, “…I’m sorry.” He waits more. And more. Kei knows Tadashi’s apologies-- he has to, with all the apologizing the boy does. He’d get a giggle and a “Sorry, Tsukki,” for simple, menial things. An apology Kei knows is only a formality, because Tadashi doesn’t really mean it. An “I’m sorry, Tsukki,” for things he was sincerely sorry for. But never, never _ever_ , does Kei _not_ hear a bright, cheerful “Tsukki” after his apologies. Until now. No cheerful “Tsukki,” comes at the end of this apology, only a calm, monotone, “sorry,” and the note rings in Kei’s ears almost painfully.

And then Tadashi is standing, grabbing his phone from the floor. The door clicks shut and Kei hears Akiteru outside the door, asking Tadashi what’s wrong, but there’s no reply – at least, from what Kei can hear – and he curses, hitting his pillow as hard as he could. He hadn’t heard the _one thing_ he’d needed to to know everything was ok. The _one_ take away he had that Tadashi wasn’t really mad, that he was just going to let him cool off alone-- he didn’t hear that, _why didn’t he hear that_? He curses again.

He’d have to fix it. But how?..

Ah! Flowers. When you anger your significant other, flowers are the answer, right?

The next day, Kei is sick again. and so he has to wait another day until he can meet Tadashi for school, but Tadashi stays silent and ignores his attempts at conversation the whole day. He skips practice after school and runs -- actually _runs_ , not jogs -- to the flower shop and buys him something he thinks he’ll like. Daisies. White daisies -- spotted with pink after a dye tube exploded on them -- but they were pretty, and Kei is _sure_ Tadashi will like them.

When he runs back to the school, Tadashi is gone. Daichi scolds him for skipping, and he promises not to do it again. The walk home is bitter, and cold, and Kei hates himself. He gives the daisies to his mother, claiming that he felt bad for having her take care of him all week.

The next day he tries candy. He buys all of Tadashi’s favorite sweets, and puts them in a nice bag, intending to give them to Tadashi after practice. Of course, that plan is ruined when coach Ukai calls a meeting after they’ve finished cleaning up and says that, in preparation for the nationals, they would be subject to a strict dietary regimen as well as even more grueling practices. For any sweets or unnecessary carbs taken in, one hundred flying falls.

So he gives Akiteru the candy, claiming he’d bought it when he was craving chocolate and then realized he didn’t want it after all.

As he’s escaping Akiteru’s room, however, he’s caught by the arm. “What happened between you and Tadashi?”

“Nothing.”

“Oh really? He storms out a few days ago, and then doesn’t how up at the house, and you’re buying everybody things-- it’s like you’re trying to get us to forget asking about it. I know something’s up.”

Kei sighs. Of _course_ he does. “We just had a disagreement.”

“Mhm.” Akiteru crosses his arms, glaring knowingly up at Kei.

“We _did_ ,” Kei says insistently, desperate to leave and try to fix things on his own. Akiteru keeps looking at him like that, though, and he just wants to _leave_. “It’s nothing. I’m sure we’ll make up soon.”

“Kei...He left crying. He’s never _cried_ because of you... Never. What did you say to him?” Akiteru’s voice is soft, and he looks genuinely concerned, and Kei curses. _He’d made Tadashi cry._

“I...Kissed him.” Akiteru’s eyes widen. “I kissed him, and he-- he kept saying he was pathetic, that he didn’t deserve me, and I should go for someone else, and-- and I...told him that he was _acting_ pathetic, and...”

“Kei...” Akiteru breathes, staring at him. “You...know he’s a sensitive guy, and you insulted him?..” 

“I know, I know,” Kei grumbles, crossing his arms and dropping onto the bed next to Akiteru. He groans. “I _know_ , but I _can’t_ , I don’t know how...”

“I could help, if you want...” 

“No, I-- I need to do it myself.”

“Kei, you’ve never gotten into a _fight_ with him before, are you sure you know how to handle this kind of thing?..” 

“I’ll be fine.” 

Of course, Kei’s not fine. By the next day, the team has been alerted to the sudden absence of “Sorry Tsukki!” and soft snickers coming from Tadashi, and watch the two of them closely. Suga actually commented on how they haven’t been walking together to and from school any more. Yachi asked why he didn’t join her and Tadashi and the other first years for lunch anymore. They’re getting suspicious.

Aweek later, as he sits alone at lunch, he’s sure the entire team has an entire plan set out to get them to be friends again even though _they’re still friends, they’re just cooling off--_

“Uh...Ts-- Tsukishima, can you...help me g- get a net from the closet?..I can’t reach...”  Kei’s gaze finds Yachi, fidgeting nervously, and he blinks. The day had gone quick. Practice was starting. He thinks nothing of it as he nods, turning to the storage room.

“Where is it?” He asks over his shoulder, raising his head to look at the shelves. He doesn’t see a net on any of the higher ones. Hinata usually showed up on weekends, and after an incident, they started keeping them on the bottom shelves.

This is how Kei realizes his mistake.

“Ah, it should be right--”

“Yachi--”

Suddenly, Tadashi’s being shoved inside the storage room by Tanaka and Nishinoya, and the door is closing -- why is the door closing -- and before Kei knows it, he’s stuck in darkness with Tadashi.

“T- Tanaka-senpai! Noya-senpai! L- Let us out!” Tadashi yells, pounding lightly on the door. “P- Please?”

Kei rolls his eyes. Please wasn’t going to work. He knows exactly what it’s going to take to get them out, and he’s not sure Tadashi is willing.

“Not until you two make up! It’s scary when you two aren’t laughing at us together!” 

“So you actually want us to laugh at you?” Kei calls, smirking despite himself. He hears Tanaka sputter. 

“It-- It’s better than being laughed at by just you!" 

Kei rolls his eyes again.

“Just talk!” Nishinoya yells in to them, and he hears the distressed noise coming from Tadashi, but no plead for them to be let out. Kei figures he’s found out there’s no arguing with the idiots outside. Instead, Tadashi huffs, and slides against the door. 

“Tsu...kki...” Tadashi mumbles, eyes on his knees, not Kei. Kei doesn’t reply, and so they sit there a few minutes, holding their breaths. “Tsukki, I’m sorry.” 

_Click! The first cog, repaired._

“You’re only apologizing because we’re in here.” Kei’s mind screams at him as soon as the words leave his mouth. _Are you insane? He apologized! If you do the same, you’ll be friends again and they’ll let you out!_

“I know. I wouldn’t have had the courage to if we weren’t. I was out of line, and scared, and I should have listened to you, I’m sorry.” 

“I just wish you’d have more confidence, Yamaguchi,” Kei whispers, walking over to Tadashi and crouching down in front of him. He tries to lift his head, but he keeps it aimed towards the floor. “You’ve grown so much. And I thought you’d know it when someone said they love you...I shouldn’t have gotten angry.”

“And I shouldn’t have gotten so defensive.” Tadashi says, still not looking up. “It’s just-- Sometimes, my brain tells me I’m not enough, and that people don’t really like me, they’re just pretending for some reason. I don’t believe it, I _don’t_ , but my brain makes me think I’m not, and-- I’m really _really_ sorry, Tsukki.”

_Click. Cog two.  
_

There’s silence, and then, “...Do you think you’re enough now?”

This gets Tadashi to raise his head. 

“Huh?”

Kei clucks his tongue, shaking his head at his best friend’s air-headedness.

“Do you think you’re enough now? If I were to kiss you now, would you think it’s genuine?” 

Tadashi bites his lip, before nodding slowly. “I...I think so.”

Kei smiles softly. “Good.”

He leans forward, and connects their lips. At first, Tadashi only gasps, frozen, but then he warms up and kisses back, raising his hands from his lap and placing them lightly around Kei’s neck.

_Click. The rest of the cogs start up._

They pull away after a while, breathless, and Kei rests his forehead against Tadashi’s.

“Hey.” 

“Yeah?” 

“When you’re having one of those days...” Kei mumbles, not looking Tadashi in the eyes, instead focusing on the freckled dotting his cheek. “...Come to me, and I’ll give you all the kisses you deserve. Ok?”

Tadashi giggles, and that’s when Kei realizes there’s tears in his eyes. “I will. I promise.”

“And while we’re here-- be my boyfriend?” 

Another giggle. “Of course, Tsukki.”

They worked like clockwork. If one of the cogs stopped working, so did the rest of the clock, until the cog was fixed and the whole thing moved smoothly again. Conversely, if one is fixed, all of the cogs are fixed. And _god_ , is Kei glad that that’s the case.


End file.
